"Today, when Kamal Kishore Mishra was returning home with fodder for his cattle around 7 am, some unidentified men shot him. When Amarkant Mishra, another villager, raised an alarm seeing the miscreants flee the area, he was shot at, too," Superintendent of Police Awakash Kumar said.

The injured villager, who is undergoing treatment at Ara Sadar Hospital, said three men had attacked them, the SP told reporters.

"Kamal Mishra, who had completed his testimony earlier this year, was an eyewitness in the Ojha killing case. His security cordon was removed at his request following the testimony," he said.

Several senior police officers, including Additional SP (Operations) Nitin Kumar, have reached the spot to take a stock of the situation, Kumar stated.

"We are conducting raids to nab the culprits. Five empty cartridges have been recovered from the site of the incident," he added.

Bhuwar Ojha, the brother of the deceased BJP leader, claimed the incident will create panic and fear among the remaining witnesses.

"Kamal Kishore's death will adversely affect the trial in the case," he said.